Stop! Your Lease Extension in Lightwater Could Be FREE

Many leaseholders in Lightwater are unaware that their original lawyer had a duty to warn them about future mortgageability and saleability issues. Before you pay thousands to your freeholder, let us audit your purchase history. You might have a claim that pays for your lease extension in full

If you are facing a significant premium because your lease in Lightwater has dropped toward the 80-year mark, your previous lawyer may be at fault. Our panel of experts specialise in recovering lease extension costs from negligent firms who failed to protect your investment.

Top reasons for Lightwater lease extension


Main reasons to start your Lightwater lease extension today:

A Lightwater leasehold property depreciates with the years remaining on the lease.

There is no doubt about it a leasehold property in Lightwater is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. If the lease has, more than one hundred years remaining then this decrease may be of little impact that being said there will become a point in time when a lease has under than eighty years left as part of the premium you will incur is what is known as a marriage value. This could be significant. It is the primary rational as to why you should consider extending without delay. Many flat owners in Lightwater will qualify for this right; however a lawyer can confirm if you are eligible for a lease extension. In certain situations you may not qualify, the most frequent reason being that you have owned the property for under two years.

An extended lease is almost the same value as a freehold

It is generally considered that a residential leasehold with in excess of one hundred years unexpired lease term is worth roughly the equivalent as a freehold. Where an further ninety years added to all but the shortest lease, the residence will be equivalent in value to a freehold for decades to come.

Banks and Building Societies will not issue a mortgage with a short lease

Most mortgage lenders have narrowed their lending criteria in the last ten years and borrowers are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funding or re-mortgage against property with shorter lease terms, particularly under 75 years as they are regarded as unacceptable for lending purposes.

Lender Requirement
Bank of Scotland Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Barnsley Building Society 60 years from the date of the mortgage application subject to 35 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term.
Godiva Mortgages A minimum of 70 years unexpired lease at completion for all scheme types apart from Lifetime Mortgages (Equity Release), which require a minimum unexpired term of 80 years at completion.
Halifax Minimum 70 years from the date of the mortgage.
Royal Bank of Scotland Mortgage term plus 30 years.

Get in touch with one of our Lightwater lease extension solicitors or enfranchisement solicitors

The lawyers that we work with procure Lightwater lease extensions and help protect your position. A lease extension can be arranged to be completed to coincide with a change of ownership so the costs of the lease extension are paid for using part of the sale proceeds. You really do need expert legal advice in this difficult and technical area of law. The lawyer we work with provide it.

Lightwater Lease Extension Case Summaries:

Lucy, Lightwater, Surrey,

Following lengthy negotiations with the landlord of her one bedroom apartment in Lightwater, Lucy commenced the lease extension process just as her lease was coming close to the crucial eighty-year mark. The transaction completed in August 2007. The landlord’s costs were kept to an absolute minimum.

Lightwater case:

In 2013 we were phoned by Dr Ibrahim Howard who, having took over the lease of a purpose-built apartment in Lightwater in November 1998. We are asked if we could approximate the compensation to the landlord would likely be for a ninety year lease extension. Comparable flats in Lightwater with an extended lease were in the region of £243,000. The average amount of ground rent was £65 collected monthly. The lease ran out on 25 June 2089. Taking into account 63 years left we approximated the compensation to the landlord to extend the lease to be within £20,000 and £23,000 plus fees.

Lightwater case:

Dr Natasha David moved into a first floor flat in Lightwater in March 2003. We are asked if we could estimate the price could be to prolong the lease by 90 years. Similar properties in Lightwater with 100 year plus lease were worth £181,600. The mid-range ground rent payable was £55 invoiced monthly. The lease finished on 10 June 2078. Considering the 52 years left we calculated the premium to the landlord for the lease extension to be within £30,400 and £35,200 not including fees.